Student Resources:

• Reconstruction Interactive Timeline
• African Americans During Reconstruction Handout
• Sticky Notes
• Principles, Virtues, and Vices Handouts

Facilitation Notes

• There is a digital timeline this lesson. The timeline spans the course of the Reconstruction unit but this lesson will only utilize some of the entries.

Engage

• Ask students to think about one of their favorite experiences. Responses will vary, but examples include going to a concert, winning a game, reading a good book, having a meal at their favorite restaurant, getting a pet, or visiting a loved one. Have them write down what they remember about the sounds, sights, smells, tastes, textures, or feelings they had.

Teacher Note: Knowing your student population is important. When giving examples, be aware of the types of experiences students in your class are likely to have had.

• Discuss with the class their experiences, asking guiding questions as needed, such as “Does it sound like some senses stand out more than others? Let’s try to remember some of the underrepresented ones” “Do you only remember the extreme things or do the smaller things stand out as well?” “Do you think other people there would report the same experiences?”
• Remind students that we all have negative experiences as well and we could do the same exercise about those.
• Say to students, “Today, we are going to look at the experiences of African Americans during Reconstruction. Some of these experiences were positive, and some would have been negative. To respect their experiences as we learn, we are going to read about events and try to put ourselves in their place during this time.”

Explore

Interactive Timeline Investigation

• Access the Reconstruction Interactive Timeline.
• Ask students to review the timeline and identify five events or entries that reflect the experiences of African Americans during Reconstruction. Have them create a list of these events. Students should read through each of these entries on the timeline, clicking on the information elaboration to learn more about each topic.

Sensory Description Activity

• Distribute the African Americans During Reconstruction Handout and instruct students to choose five separate dates or events from the timeline to complete the sensory figure.
  • For example: A student might choose the Thirteenth Amendment for hear “I heard that slavery was ended…”, the Fifteenth Amendment for see “I see former slaves in line to vote…”, and the Freedmen’s Bureau Founded for feel “I feel the handle of the door to my own home…” and so on.
• Direct students to describe and elaborate what an African American living through Reconstruction might have seen, heard, tasted, smelled, and felt. This can be literal or figurative based on teacher discretion.

Scaffolding note: If students struggle with one of the senses, a good replacement is think”. They could also be required to fill in 3 or 4 out of the 5 boxes instead.

• Encourage students to work diligently on their descriptions. “I heard slavery was over” is a basic entry for the Thirteenth Amendment that is accurate, but not an appropriate elaboration. Instead, students should say “I heard slavery was over and felt a sense of relief that the government was better protecting the rights of African Americans by ending an unjust institution.” Be sure that students don’t just focus on the feelings but also return to principles like equality, liberty, and justice.

Teacher note: Be sure to guide students as they complete their organizers. If students are struggling, ask them the following questions to help guide them.

• What is the broader impact of the situation you are describing?
• What is a situation that you have experienced yourself that was momentous? How would you describe what you felt, saw, etc.?

Assess & Reflect

• I notice, I wonder
  • Display students’ sensory figures around the classroom. Access the list of principles, virtues, and vices.
  • Ask students review their classmates’ work with the principles, virtues, or vices in mind and use a sentence starting with I notice or I wonder then the principle, virtue or vice, on a sticky note such as:
    • I notice injustice in…
    • I wonder how long it took before equality…

Extend (Optional)

• As a research project, have students draw or use a photograph of an African American from the period as the foundation for the sensory figure. The descriptions can be written around the drawing or photo to annotate the real life of this African American during Reconstruction.